


Win the Game Before It's Played

by cricket_aria



Category: No Game No Life - Kamiya Yuu
Genre: F/M, Future Fic, Protectiveness, Step-Sibling Incest, plotting Shiro, unwise wagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 00:07:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21843565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cricket_aria/pseuds/cricket_aria
Summary: Though they've been royalty for years, Sora had never considered that once she came of age those seeking power would start making plays for his sister. But Shiro has a plan of her own how to deal with it.
Relationships: Shiro/Sora
Comments: 7
Kudos: 170
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	Win the Game Before It's Played

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ryuutchi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryuutchi/gifts).



> A little AU in that the Dwarf race hasn't approached before Shiro turned 16, since I've yet to read the volume where they finally pop up in the present.

“ _Get the hell out of here right now!_ ”

The doors to the palace flew open and a man stumbled out, propelled along by Sora’s foot to his ass. Though it wasn’t possible for him to do more than give him the most gentle nudge to move, that was enough to startle him into tumbling down the first few steps all on its own before he managed to catch himself. Once he did he looked like he was considering whether he should have let himself fall further just to get away faster when he glanced back and saw Sora looming over him at the top of the stairs, still looking murderous.

“If you ever come back here again I swear I will _find_ a way around the ban on violence!” Sora shouted after him, then a dangerous-looking smile crawled its way across his face as he added, “Better yet, I’ll find a way around it for _Jibril_.”

“Oh, Master, that sounds like a lovely plan! I’ll begin researching a way around it at once!” a cheery voice called down from above, and the man finally broke into a run with a shout as the Flügel in question drifted down from the roof, clearly delighted by the thought. He missed her adding to Sora, “Mind you, I daresay I would have found such a method long before now if it existed, but it can be interesting to revisit old problems.”

“I reject your wager,” an unperturbed voice said quietly from behind both of them, though the man was already too far away to possibly make it out.

“C’mon, Shiro, he didn’t even deserve to have you reply,” Sora grumbled, but the anger seemed to seep out of him as he turned to face her. She’d grown too much for him to lift her up the way he once might have, but for a second he wrapped his arms around her protectively, tucking her head beneath his chin. “Can you believe that asshole? Who did he think he was?”

“You can hardly be surprised, Master,” Jibril said, alighting beside them. “The two of you are the rulers of Imanity, after all, and it is quite traditional for pathetic drudges like him to scramble for scraps of power with such wagers.”

“That bastard tried to bet for my sister’s chastity!”

“Oh yes! He must have a terribly inflated sense of his own virility, mustn’t he, to think that would earn him her favor,” Jibril said, laughing. “But he wasn’t the first,” she only acknowledged Sora’s outraged ‘ _What_ ’ by smoothly adding in, “though he was the first who wasn’t stopped before he could reach you, and he’ll hardly be the last. There’s always been too much competition for you, Master, but now that the Mistress is of age you can expect anyone who thinks they might have a shot to come sniffing after her.”

Sora glared suspiciously around them as if more potential suitors, if the man could even have been considered that, might start coming out of the woodwork, and began pushing Shiro back through the door. “I’ve never seen anyone pester Stephanie like this,” he said accusingly, like everyone had just been hiding it from him.

“Everyone knows Steph is something to you, even if they don’t know what,” Shiro told him, allowing herself to be lead.

“And Dolly can hardly be considered a figure of power the way either of you are,” Jibril added cheerfully, “Though I’m sure that only the cockiest of these monkeys will think you’d accept a wager that brazen just from seeing them, Mistress. Most are more likely to gamble for the chance to court you.”

“Like any of them have anything we’d agree was of equal value to play with,” Sora grumbled, “What sort of sick asshole would even try using something like that as a bet?”

“You did, Sora,” Shiro pointed out to him, setting him spluttering. “When we first arrived here, our first wager. To let that man do whatever he wanted with us if he won.”

“That is absolutely different!” Sora finally managed to burst out. “We both knew there was no way he could win! A-and anyway, we never actually found out which one of us he wanted, it might have been my fine ass he was after.”

Jibril clicked her tongue and shook her head with obviously exaggerated sadness. “Gambling away your own eleven-year-old sister’s virginity, how terrible of you Master.”

“I did not! You should know full-well by now that 『 』 never loses, Jibril! It’s not a gamble if you can’t lose!”

“So you say, Master. But then it should hardly matter if others continue to approach, since it will still not be a gamble to you if one of these peons manages to find something to wager that you’d agree is worth playing for. Not that I could possibly imagine that happening.” The only response she got was another outraged shout from Sora, and an uninterested shrug from Shiro. “Well, it will hardly stop as long as she remains unattached. If you would like, Mistress, we could spread the word that you and I have become engaged. You both know that as you are my masters I can be trusted not to try to take advantage of the situation, and as a Flügel I lack the hormonal imbalances that could make me try to take advantage of Mistress Shiro herself either. Even if it was rather delightful when she doted on me during those filthy dogs’ game, if I recall correctly.”

“No offense, Jibril,” Sora said, wrapping his arm firmly around Shiro’s shoulders and keeping her pulled close to his side, “but there’s no way I’m going to let anyone do anything that could take advantage of my little sister. Not even you, not even as a cover story. She deserves to pick who she wants for herself, not because of a bet.”

Shiro pressed closer into his side, and shot Jibril a small, self-satisfied, smile. “Yes,” she agreed. “I don’t need anyone but Sora by my side.”

“Suit yourself, my Masters,” Jibril said, shrugging at them. “Then I’m afraid that, unless you plan on locking the Mistress away in a tower where no challengers could reach her, you’ll just have to accept that more will keep trying.”

Jibril hadn’t expected them both to actually look considering at that joking suggestion. “The NEET lifestyle was pretty comfortable for us…” Sora mused.

Beside him Shiro tapped her chin thoughtfully, then shook her head. “No. If we locked ourselves away Steph would snap. I’ll think about what to do.”

* * *

The offers continued to come, men and women finding ways to slip around their security even when Sora had offered the guards a bonus which would would grow with each consecutive week they went without anyone harassing his sister. They rarely even made it to one week’s worth.

It was like Shiro’s sixteenth birthday had opened a floodgate that wouldn’t be resealed.

“Someone make a note,” Sora growled as he watched the latest would-be suitor get escorted away, “the Dwarves are our next target.”

“Are you sure you should have turned him down like that?” Steph asked doubtfully. “I understand how you feel, but he was willing to accept wagering an alliance for Shiro’s hand. You would have gotten to pick the game, guys, it’ll never be that easy again!”

“I am not. Wagering. _My sister!_ ” Sora ground out, turning his glare on her. “Since when have the Dwarves even cared enough about Imanity to make a play for her?”

“I doubt they care about Imanity, Master,” Jibril said, glancing up briefly from the book she’d been flipping through, clearly bored by now of the stream of would-be suitors. “I expect that those rust-covered oafs have somehow heard about the wonderful toys the two of you brought from your world, and hoped that if they won she’ll bring her share of them with her. And if they failed, why, as your latest allies they could try to get someone into a position to examine them all, though obviously they must prefer keeping their autonomy. Once they’ve seen them they’ll be able to recreate them.”

“How foolish,” Shiro said with the tiniest frown. “If they’d just asked for an alliance we’d be happy to have someone who could make replacements.”

“No kidding,” Sora said, pulling out his phone and tapping it against his hand. “These things aren’t going to last forever, and the Werebeasts haven’t managed to reverse-engineer everything yet without a chance to crack them open.”

“Just new SD cards would be good,” Shiro added, the two of them having long since started needing to delete old pictures and recordings to make space for new ones. Neither of them were very happy about that; though they could both remember everything that they saw, there was always the chance that something they hadn’t noticed during an old game would some day turn out to be important. If they only were able to look back over them to catch it.

Sora nodded his agreement to that, but frowned more deeply all the same. “Not at the cost they were betting though. If they’d just wagered for access to our phones and things we could have worked something out.”

“Maybe you should have told them that instead of just throwing him out?” Stephanie suggested, then flinched slightly when that drew Sora’s glare to her. “I’m just saying, guys, it’s not the best look for Imanity when you’ve suddenly started throwing out anyone who tries to challenge you, even if it’s because everyone trying lately has been after the same thing. Something’s got to change soon.”

“It’s okay, Steph,” Shiro said, reaching out to pat her on the head like she was a pet who needed comfort. “My plan’s almost ready, then everything should sort itself out.”

“Wait, plan?” Sora whirled towards her, “What plan? Why haven’t heard about a plan?”

“I told you that first time that I’d think of something,” she told him, gently chiding like he should have known that she’d meant what she’d said and not been surprised when she followed through.

“Well, yeah,” he accepted that, looking a little hurt, “but I thought you’d keep me in the loop about it. How could I not know about it?”

“I talked to Izuna about it the last time she came to bathe.” She shrugged slightly, “I thought you’d have more fun if you only see what we decided on when it was done.”

“’Izuna’?” he repeated, then grinned slowly. “A new video game, then? Okay, getting to beta test will be more interesting if I haven’t heard the details.”

“I thought you’d be interested,” Shiro said, giving him a smile smile in return.

* * *

It was several more weeks before word was sent that the Werebeast programmers had completed the game she requested. Or games, Sora discovered when they went to see the final product.

“Grandpa and I decided this would be the best way to keep you from having to deal with those bastards yourself all the time, thank you,” Izuna told them as she lead them the their gaming chambers. “They’ll have to wager for the right to even play a game for your hand. That game is just against NPCs, so you won’t need to waste your time dealing with all the creeps who can’t get past it.”

“Good thinking, Izuna,” Sora told her, scratching lightly at her ears, then glanced over at Ino who was shadowing them. “You helped out with this too, Gramps? I’m surprised you care.”

Ino snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. “In a few years we’ll be going through the same thing with Izuna that you are now. If this works out well we can recycle the plan for her. If you’re using our technology we’ll expect you to follow our example and make the losers forget the game so they won’t have an advantage if they return for her.”

“Yeah, yeah, we don’t plan on revealing your tricks to the world any more than we ever have,” Sora, agreed, waving off his concern.

“Especially not if it’s to help Izuna,” Shiro agreed, rubbing her cheek against the girl’s tail.

“We should get started, please,” Izuna said, although her tail curled to caress Shiro’s cheek affectionately for a moment before she pulled away. “The technicians don’t want to wait around for us to visit, thank you. Did you want to try both?”

The siblings shared a glance, then Sora shook his head decisively for both of them. “Nah, we’ll trust your work with the NPCs. Maybe we’ll try it out some other time, but it’s a lot more fun playing against another person, don’t you think?”

“Especially Sora,” Shiro agreed.

“Yes! This will be super fun, I promise!” Izuna beamed at them, a far cry from the little girl who’d once never realized that a game could be fun. “If any of those assholes ever gets this far we’ll have them enter in a different room from Shiro, but we have rigs for you side-by-side so you can hold hands again.”

“Thank you,” Shiro said, the tiniest bit teasing as she cut Izuna off from saying it herself.

“Well, it would hardly be much of a trial run if the two of you spent it collapsed crying,” Ino said dryly. “Now, if you’d like to get in we can begin.”

* * *

“Oh, thank god it’s not Tokyo again,” was the first thing out of Sora’s mouth when the simulation seemed to spring into being around them. Instead they found themselves on the edge of a forest of massive trees, each one as thick around as the trailer of a semi-truck with branches as wide as paths stretching out high above them. Behind them there was nothing but a sheer cliff, urging them to enter the woods. Sora eyeballed them and snorted, “Were you thinking about how you’ll never find out how Naruto ends when you described the setting? I never thought you were that interested in it.” Experimentally he gave what was supposed to be a small hop, and sure enough found it sent him up several meters. A good strong jump would surely take him up into the branches.

Shiro shrugged. “It seemed like a good setting. Anyone who makes it this far might not think to try jumping for them.”

Sora glanced down at the gun that had appeared holstered at his side when the world materialized around them, then drew his and tested its feel in his hand. “Another shooter?”

Shiro smiled slightly at him. “We can’t play them anywhere else here. And no one but a Werebeast would have any practice, and we already know we can beat the best of them. I thought you’d be happier with a game that wouldn’t even give them a chance to hope.”

“Less fun though,” he told her, grinning back, “Once we’ve gotten all these jerks to back off we’ll need to claim it for ourselves and play properly. So, what’re we gonna set as the stakes?”

A slightly mechanical voice that clearly sounded like it was based on Ino’s cut in, stating “The stakes for the challenged party have already been set; upon their loss the challenger will be granted the rights to Queen Shiro’s hand in marriage.”

“ _Marriage?!_ ” Sora exclaimed. “Isn’t that going a little far? C’mon, Shiro, I think just one date would be more than enough if anyone ever somehow wins, they can play again if they want another, and propose to you like a normal person after dating you like a normal person!”

“But 『 』 never loses, Sora,” Shiro told him, the tiniest bit chiding, “so what does it matter what the stakes are? We can’t let people say we’re being unfair.”

“Queen Shiro will now set the stakes for the challenger,” the system broke back in.

“If I win?” she said thoughtfully, both of them knowing that this was one of the few types of game where that ‘if’ was almost a certainty, “I choose what we have for dinner tonight.”

He snickered and shook his head, “I’m pretty sure you’re worth more than one night’s dinner, don’t let me catch you setting that kind of wager with anyone else.”

“We’ll take them for whatever they’re willing to put up,” she agreed, then held up her hand. “Aschente?”

“Aschente,” he agreed, mirroring her pose. 

“Would you like an overview of the scoring system?” the system asked them.

Sora raised an eyebrow at Shiro, “Do I need an overview of the scoring system?”

“Don’t you think you can figure out which I gave her to base it on on your own?”

“Okay, secondary challenge accepted!” Sora said brightly, his eyes gleaming.

“First, test shoot me, Sora,” she instructed him, and when his eyebrows raised clarified, “I need to make sure I can feel it clearly when I’m hit. We don’t want anyone to win because I didn’t feel the strike.”

“Good thinking, Shiro,” he agreed, stepping back a few paces and raising his gun. “I don’t think Izuna would let the techs make it hurt you too much, but I’ll just graze you just in case.”

“No,” she insisted, “shoot properly, Sora. I need to know.”

“Okay, okay, so sue me for not wanting to hurt my sister,” he said, and shifted his aim until it was pointed squarely at her left shoulder then fired. He could tell that the impact obviously had some force to it, Shiro forced backward a step as the pellet of light that erupted from the muzzle of the gun hit her with a meaty thunk, but it only took her a moment to straighten back up and when she twisted her arm it clearly wasn’t troubling her.

“It stings for a second then goes away,” she informed him, as the system voice filled the air around them to announce that the challenger had taken the first point.

“Okay, take your own free point, then we can start fighting it out to win you that dinner properly.”

Instead Shiro walked to the side of the cliff, and stared pointedly at Sora as she pulled her gun, held it out over the edge, and let it drop into the unreachable depths.

“What are you doing?” Sora yelped, lunging for the edge and staring over it. Even with the incredibly jumping power the game had given them it was too far to risk, he didn’t want to test what type of fall damage the Werebeasts had programmed in for the challenger’s side. This game wasn’t meant to be a gentle one, it was created to scare the creeps chasing after Shiro enough that they wouldn’t try again, and he didn’t know what tricks might have been programmed in to achieve those ends. _Especially_ if Ino really did plan to use the same game in Izuna’s future. “This is a _real_ wager, Shiro, you know that right? You know what will happen if we hit the time limit and I have the only point.”

“Yes, you’ll have won the right to marry me,” she said simply, clearly entirely accepting of it. 

“Th-th-that’s not something you should say so calmly! Do you even get what you’re saying here?”

“Is it so terrible if you win?” Shiro asked, what would have sounded like only the faintest hint of distress to anyone else, but rang out clear as a bell to Sora, entering her voice. “You said that I deserved to pick who I wanted, didn’t you? I don’t need anyone but you, Sora. I’ll _never_ need anyone but you.”

He recognized the echo of what she’d said in response to his own statement weeks ago, taking on a meaning he hadn’t even thought of then. “We can’t want that, Shiro, you know we can’t want that. You’re my—”

“ _Step_ -sister,” she cut in. “I think this is the one time the ‘step’ is important.”

“Hell, Shiro,” Sora raked his fingers through his hair, staring up at the unnaturally blue sky, “This isn’t the way to spring this sorta thing on a guy, you realize that right? This isn’t the kind of conversation we should be having with Izuna and her grandpa listening in!”

There was a slight crackle in the air, then Izuna’s voice replaced the electronic one which had been giving them information. “Don’t mind us, please! But this sounds like a very good solution to me, thank you!”

More distantly in the background they could hear Ino grumbling, “Honestly, I don’t understand why Imanity gets so hung up on who’s related to whom. Why, my third and fifteenth wives—” Sora quickly tuned him out, not really wanting to know just how closely related the old man had been to some of the women he’d married.

“Sora,” Shiro said softly, reaching out and pressing her hand against his cheek. It felt as warm as if it were really there, even though at the same time he could very faintly feel her real hand tightly clenching his own to keep them connected even if it seemed as if they went their separate ways in the game, “if it bothers you that much there are other ways I can earn two points. But even if you do win nothing says that you _need_ to marry me, only that you have the right.” She leaned in close, and he felt frozen as her face moved in towards his, only veering at the last moment to press a soft kiss to his cheek at the side of his mouth instead of directly on it. Her voice lowered to a whisper as she finished by saying, “You’ve always had that right, Sora. You just never seemed to listen when I tried to tell you any other way.”

“Hell,” he whispered back, and let his forehead rest against her’s, still as close as could be. “Hell, Shiro, this still isn’t the place to talk about something like this. But if you’re serious… okay. We can run out the clock, and hold off the conversation until we’re back home.” He laughed then, burying his hand in the back of her hair and tilting her head back so he could kiss her on the forehead. “We can always play Janken for breaking the engagement later, if we decide to go another way.”

* * *

The next day word was spread across the Elchea Federation that someone had won the game set up for Queen Shiro’s hand on the very first try. They didn’t announce the name of the lucky suitor at that point, but began making sure that the information slowly spread that, though they called and considered themselves brother and sister, the King and Queen weren’t actually connected by blood.

Though Sora wasn’t going to outright agree to a marriage until they’d had a lot more time to talk and consider it, he was willing to let his position as her potential fiance stand until they’d both decided on what they wanted for sure.

And for Shiro, for the time being, that was enough.


End file.
